New Mexico State suspends men’s basketball programs due to many reported hazing incidents for an indefinite period of time on last Friday, 10th February 2023. The game that was scheduled for 11th of February which was against California will not be played. New Mexico State Aggies men’s basketball team is a term used to represent New Mexico State University in Las Cruces. The Aggies have won 7 WAC titles and made 8 appearances in March Madness since 2007.
New Mexico State University has released a statement that the decision was based on the allegations of these hazing incidents. Which are violations of university policy, and not on “the events that took place in Albuquerque,” where Mike Peake was involved in a fatal shooting.
What Is The Current Situation
The police report was filed regarding this issue and after 24 hours of the complaint, these programs were shut down. The complaint was filed by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman who reported new allegations that many players use to tease one teammate on many occasions.
For the proper investigation of this case, the entire staffs of New Mexico State University has been given administrative leave. Both the school and Albuquerque district attorney have started their separate investigation.
A statement was also released by the regents of the school board who supported the decision of suspending the program and investigating the situation. They also decided to not renew the contract of Chancellor Dan Arvizu which is going to expire in June this year. In the past 14 months, both school’s president and provost have resigned or fired.
On Friday, the team was 9-15 and struggling at 2-10 in Western Athletic Conference play. The school had a successful team as they had made it 27-7 in NCAA Tournament last season. The team was guided by Chris Jans, who left the position to become a head coach at Mississippi State. And was replaced by Greg Heiar, who was the head coach at NW Florida State before this position.
Everyone who played last year did not come back to play this season, only two of them returned this year, and one of them was Peake. He was not allowed in the court because he was suspended for shooting.
Mike Peake Allegations
The Aggies have been involved in these controversies since November 2022 when forward Mike Peake shot and killed a New Mexico Student in Albuquerque.
In this incident, Peake was lured by four students to a residence hall before the rivalry game and was attacked. A 19-year-old boy Brandon Travis shot Peake in the leg and when he fired back with his gun four times and hit Travis, which ultimately killed him.
After this incident, an NMSU staff member took the important evidence which was later discovered by the Police. Due to fear, Greg Heiar left town and Peake was transported to a hospital. The gun used was located at the hotel team and was wrapped in a towel by assistant coach Dominique Taylor ordered by Heiar.
Till last month, Peake was not charged with a crime act because it was considered retaliation or just a self-defense mechanism for Peake in the fight between him and Travis at the football game between two rival schools last year.
What Happens Next?
The Aggies had also cancelled the game against the Lobos in Albuquerque which was scheduled just after the day of the shooting. And they also cancelled the rematch in Las Cruces which was scheduled for 3rd December this year.
The WAC now has to consider scheduling adjustments because of New Mexico State University program shutdown. They also released a statement that “The WAC is continuing to monitor the situation at New Mexico State and at this time has no additional comment.” The investigation is still going on let’s see what new comes up.
